Join Rachel and Jim as they discover and celebrate the wealth of Ecuador life in adventures and daily living. Our site will tell things the way they are here. You can decide for yourself if you too would like to experience a change in heart, mind, body, and spirit.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

You'll have to go back several months to find Rachel's and my trip to Vilcabamba on this blog site. It was an enchanting trip. We weren't married yet. We were still trying to determine whether our love for each other was enough to make us safe and viable as a couple. We were still needing to know whether our tempos and rhythms would gel. We had not yet been on 'the ride' together. On that trip Rachel and I rode horses in the mountains on a gruelling and harrowing adventure. Rachel got some kind of stomach bug on that trip also. 'The Bug' lasted for four days. We also met and became friends with Rick and Eve Casto. Rick and Eve just follow their hearts and their hearts lead them to Ecuador and into the Valley of Longevity in Vilcabamba. They are helping to manage a wonderful resort and spa in Vilcabamba known as Terra Madre. Rick and Eve are missionaries. They are the kind of missionaries that make you want to become a Christian if you're not one and if you are already a Christian, you're really proud to be one and will be inspired to be more like one.

Yesterday Rick and Eve came to Cuenca and stayed the night with us. They are the perfect guests and make hosting a total pleasure. We talked about Ecuador and why we love it here. This seems to always be a topic of conversation among gringos here. Go figure. We talked about matters of the heart. We talked about our families. We talked about food and how to prepare it here. We even broke out a deck of cards with different pictures from Ecuador on the face of every card and played a new game for Rachel and me called 'Golf'. It was really fun. Rick and Eve touched our hearts and our souls and today we're better and happier people because of it. It's kind of like that here in Ecuador. You meet people here every day that enrich your life and make you realize that you're never alone. You talk about things that you never dreamed of talking about anywhere else. Whatever you were before you came here doesn't matter. Ecuador is a new start for everyone who comes here. You can become the person you've always wanted to be. You might suggest that is possible anywhere....even in your own home town. Try it. Good luck. When you're frustrated and had enough, send me an email.